Ex-cops Still Ready To Serve

NEWPORT NEWS — They're retired, but that doesn't mean they can't still serve and protect.

Seventeen retired police officers are forming a volunteer search-and-rescue team that will help Newport News police track missing people.

From young runaways to older people who wander away from care sites, missing people often draw police attention.

But finding them requires energy and manpower.

FOR THE RECORD - Published correction ran Tuesday, August 7, 2007.A Monday story about 17 retired police officers in Newport News forming a volunteer search and rescue group contained an error. The retired officers had a kickoff meeting Saturday morning, not Monday. (Text corrected)

These volunteers know what it takes: Among the 17 of them, they have 500 years of policing experience.

E. E. Smith is president of the Newport News Retired Officers Association.

He came up with the idea in March, when some images on the news disturbed him -- particularly the story of two kidnapped Missouri boys.

"I thought, 'We have all these retirees coming to this meeting, and they're looking for something to do and ways to give back,' " Smith said.

"I was looking for five or six people, and the next thing you know, I've got 17."

The volunteers have the blessing of Police Chief James D. Fox, who attended a kickoff meeting Saturday, at police headquarters.

When police need help, they'll activate their search team and fan out.

"We'll look for Alzheimer's patients and children who are lost or kidnapped. We'll go on Amber alerts, if they want us to," Smith said. "Our goal is to supplement the police and do what they need to be done."

Smith, 64, served 28 years on the force as an investigative specialist, working murders, rapes and robberies, along with the occasional missing person.

"I know how much it meant to the department if we had any help at all in searching, especially large wooded areas. It takes a lot of people and a lot of time to do that," he said.

"If we can do that, it gives police more time to investigate other leads. Every one of us out on the street frees up a police officer to keep taking service calls for the other crimes going on in the city."

They're ready to go whenever they get the call.

"It's a tremendous opportunity for us and for the retirees to give back to the community they've served for so many years," said Lt. Dwight Jenkins, the Police Department's special operations commander. *